After The War
by RHrForeverandever
Summary: The Battle of Hogwarts is over. Lord Voldemort is dead... So what happens now?
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the Harry Potter books/films... all belong to the lovely Jo Rowling!**

**So this is going to be a story that's been brewing in my mind ever since the final film... I've always come up with various ideas about what everyone got up to once the battle was over, so I thought i'd write them all down and make a story out of it. Please review and let me know what you think of my starter chapter then I shall post chapter 2 :)**

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**After the War.**

_Voldemort's skin began dissipating into the air from his head to his feet in tiny little flakes until only a pile of black robes were left on the stony courtyard floor. At that point, everyone cheered. At that point, everyone knew it was over. The Dark Lord was gone for good, never to return again. After 16 years, Harry had finally won._

Harry walked through the bustling Great Hall with small smile on his face. Even though he had prominent bags under his eyes from countless nights of lost sleep, cuts all over his face and a sunken pallor from not having eaten properly in days, anyone could tell that he was content for now.

Harry nodded at Neville and Luna as he passed, them too looking exhausted but relieved that the battle was over. He then passed Seamus and Dean, sharing a joke with Professor Flitwick and then Professor Sprout listening to Professor Slughorn telling her about the holes he had accumulated in his robes. Harry took a good look around before spotting McGonagall give him a proud nod. Harry turned round to leave the hall when he almost bumped into Hagrid.

"Harry…" Was all Hagrid could manage before gently putting his arms round Harry in a warm hug, then let go and patted his shoulder before walking towards the other teachers.

Ron and Hermione entered the Great Hall holding hands and Harry smirked before gesturing for them to go back outside with him. They made their way out to the courtyard, passing Filch who was helplessly trying to sweep up a mountainous pile of rubble and debris, Mrs Filch snoozing beside him.

"That's it, isn't it?" Hermione thought out loud as the trio walked out onto the damaged stone bridge.

"Yep" Replied Harry, climbing up onto a broken ledge. "It's over. For good." He sighed contentedly as he stared out over the black lake, then pulled the Elder Wand out of his pocket.

"Why didn't it work for him? The Elder Wand.' Asked Hermione.

"It answered to somebody else." Harry turned to look at the other two as Ron and Hermione both frowned in slight confusion. "When he killed Snape, he thought the wand would become his… But the thing is, the wand never belonged to Snape. It was Draco who disarmed Dumbledore that night in the Astronomy Tower. From that moment on, the wand answered to him." Harry paused and looked down at the Elder Wand in his hand once more.

"Until…" Harry looked back up at Hermione and Ron "the other night when I disarmed Draco at Malfoy Manor…"

A look of realisation crossed Ron's face as he whispered "So that means…"

"It's mine!" Harry exclaimed.

"What shall we do with it?" Questioned Ron.

"We?!" Hermione whipped her head round at him with a frown.

"I'm just saying… that's the Elder Wand. The most powerful wand in the world. With that, you'd be invincible."

Harry thought about what Ron had just said for a moment, then swiftly snapped the wand in two. Hermione gasped and Harry turned to face the lake, throwing both pieces as far as he could. Ron and Hermione both stared at the spot where the wand landed in absolute disbelief. Harry simply jumped off the ledge with a smile and turned to face his two best friends.

Hermione took a step towards Harry and took his hand in hers, whilst Ron followed suit, taking her free hand. They just stayed like that for a while until Ron took a deep breath and said.

"So… What do we do now?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the feedback guys! So as promised, here's chapter 2. Sorry its a bit long winded and slow but I wanted to make it as real as possible.**

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Harry looked at his two best friends and sighed heavily. "Right… first thing's first… we arrange a memorial to be held for the ones we lost last night."

Hermione felt Ron flinch beside her, fresh with the pain of losing his older brother Fred. She gave his hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze and said "Don't worry Ron, we'll hold a special, private ceremony for Fred as well, to cherish his memory."

Ron nodded slowly and kissed Hermione's cheek as a thank you, then turned to Harry.

"Okay, so what shall we do?"

Harry turned his head to look back at the entrance to Hogwarts. "We gather up the team and the professors… get the Great Hall all cleared up and repaired back to normal. We'll then gather each body from the hospital wing… I know Madame Pomfrey has arranged a coffin for each person to be delivered later today, and we send out owls to their families to come join us. We'll put a photo and a special message to each of the dead, then hold a candlelight vigil as the coffins get transported out of the castle to the families preferred graveyards."

Hermione and Ron both nodded solemnly and Hermione spoke up "Harry, I think that's a wonderful idea and the families will be so grateful for your kindness."

"I know… I just want it to be extra special, they all fought so valiantly and were so brave just to protect me. That's something I could never repay anyone for."

The trio began to make their way back to the castle and then split up, Hermione recruiting the girls; Luna, Ginny, Padma and Parvati Patil, Cho, Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones, Katie Bell and Marietta Edgecombe. Ron rounded up the boys; Dean, Neville, Seamus, Nigel, Justin Finch-Fletchley and Michael Corner. Harry went straight to the huddle of teachers at the other end of the hall.

"Okay girls" Hermione started as the girls eagerly awaited their tasks once they had been filled in on the plan. "I need you all to search the castle for every single candle you can find. We need hundreds… the hall is going to be lit just by candlelight. Ginny, Luna, it may be worth giving the Room of Requirement a shot, afterall, it's supposed to provide the seeker with what it needs." Ginny and Luna nodded and rushed straight off to the seventh floor. The other girls all split up to go and search the castle.

Ron got the boys into a huddle with a steely look in his green eyes. "Right. As we're all men now, we've got the hardest, but most important job… we need to repair all the damage done to the castle, so we're going to need to split up into pairs. Dean and Seamus, I want you to take care of the stone bridge and the wooden bridge, otherwise it's going to be rather difficult for the families to actually get into Hogwarts. Get rid of all the broken statues laying across the bridge with the anapneo spell and reparo should do the trick with the missing bridge parts."

"Yes sir!" Seamus and Dean both saluted Ron, before jogging out into the courtyard and over to the destroyed wooden bridge to start their hard work."

"Neville and Nigel, your job is to go up to the top parts of the castle, especially the Astronomy Tower where lots of the Death Eaters entered Hogwarts. Divination, Defence against the Dark Arts and the clock tower all need repairs done." The two boys Didn't hesitate to do as they were told. "Okay so Justin and Michael, you two need to take care of the rest of the floors… to be honest it's mainly just the staircases that need repairing… I meanwhile, are going to take care of the Entrance Hall and make sure it's back to its presentable state." The final two boys rushed off to their jobs and Ron looked over at Harry with a proud smile before getting to work on the Entrance Hall.

Harry explained his idea to the professors and they all smiled warmly at him with swells of pride.

"Well done Harry, this is a wonderful idea." McGonagall spoke up with pride. "We will all make sure this hall is back to normal in no time and will make it place of mourning and pride for the families of those who died from fighting so bravely."

Within a few hours, the Great Hall looked like it had never been touched by Death Eaters thanks to the professor's combined hard work and the peaceful, starry night ceiling was back in place. The girls had removed the four long wooden tables that the students of each house were usually sat and had lined the walls with rows and rows of different shaped and sized candles ready to be lit for the memorial.

Harry had gone down to the Owlery and sent off almost every owl with various letters to the families of the dead, before returning back to the castle to be escorted up to the hospital wing with Madame Pomfrey to prepare the bodies. They worked together to erase all dirt and cuts/wounds from every single body, Harry tearing up at all of them, feeling so guilty that these innocent people had to die for him, especially Lupin and Tonks. The hardest body to recover was Lavender Brown's as she was so badly wounded by the mouth of Fenrir Greyback. Harry's stomach dropped when he saw her and took a deep breath before carefully repairing her horrid wounds.

It was almost midnight before Harry and Madame Pomfrey had transported each coffin into the Great Hall and positioned them specially, each with their own moving, smiling photo from when they were alive placed on a stand beside it and a special message about each person. The girls had also enchanted white roses all around the edges of each coffin as a sign of peace.

Harry stood in the centre of the hall and looked at everyone still awake and smiling.

"Thank you so much to all of you. You have barely rested since the battle, yet all dedicated yourselves to helping me prepare all of this, I cannot express how much that means to me. Now, everyone needs a good night's sleep so we can be ready for the morning when families will begin to arrive. Thank you again."

The hall burst into a round of applause before everyone began parting to their various common rooms. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny took one last look around the hall at their hard work before sleepily making their way up to the Gryffindor common room for the first decent night's sleep in weeks.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry guys, another slow chapter. I promise it gets better after this!**

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Harry was awake bright and early the next morning feeling much more refreshed. It was the first night he had slept all the way through with no nightmares for as long as he could remember. He saw that Ron was still snoring and didn't have the heart to wake him yet, so he crept out of the dormitory and into the bathroom to take a long hot shower.

After about half an hour of scrubbing himself down, still bits of dirt and gravel falling out of his hair, Harry came out of the bathroom and almost knocked straight into Ginny, who looked like she had been waiting for him.

"Harry, I… I'm sorry, we hardly saw each other at all yesterday and I know we've got a big day ahead of us, but … I really needed to see you."

Harry smiled softly at the beautiful red head before him and placed one hand on her right cheek, then leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. He pulled back to see her emerald eyes sparkling with happiness and he sighed softly. "Ginny, I promise, tonight, when today is over, we'll talk properly. I'm sure Ron and Hermione have got some talking to do too."

Ginny nodded in agreement and placed her hand on Harry's arm before turning and heading back into the girls dormitory. Harry went back into the boy's room to see Ron up and dressed.

"Alright mate? Good sleep?" Ron asked Harry, he too looking much more refreshed than yesterday.

"Amazing. Best sleep I've had in years!"

"I thought so. You didn't wake me up in the night so that tells me something!" The boys both chuckled, before Harry sighed once more.

"Guess we'd better get down to the Great Hall… families will be arriving soon."

Ron nodded and followed Harry down into the common room where Hermione and Ginny were waiting for them.

"Ready?" Hermione asked as she stood up, looking at the two boys, her eyes lingering on Ron.

Ron and Harry answered in unison "Ready."

Down in the Great Hall, lots of witches and wizards were beginning to arrive, some looking nervous, some remorseful, some just plain sad. Harry joined Professor McGonagall at the entrance, shaking hands with various people and introducing himself.

Neville and Luna were handing out glasses of Pumpkin juice and Butterbeer to the guests as they made their way into the hall.

"Have you heard? Professor Sprout and Professor Flitwick have arranged a big feast for after the vigil?" Luna asked Neville, who nodded as he passed another glass of Butterbeer to a guest. "I hope they've made sure there's enough pudding."

Once everyone had arrived, Harry made his way round to each coffin. He didn't want to prepare a speech, he just wanted to allow the families to mourn in piece in their own little area with their loved ones. He saw Padma and Parvati over with Lavender's parents and all the Weasleys were shedding tears over their beloved Fred, although George seemed like he was still in shock, just stood there, emotionless. Harry walked over to where Lupin and Tonks were placed together, the remaining members of the Order stood round them. A heavily pregnant Fleur was holding a small baby in her arms and smiled as Harry approached them.

"'Arry… Remus had one final wish before 'e died and zat was for you to become little Teddy's Godfather." Harry frowned as Fleur placed Teddy into his arms and he smiled down at the baby just under a year old and fell in love. He of all people knew exactly what it was like to lose both parents as a baby.

"As soon as I'm finished with Hogwarts, I will take good care of Teddy. He needs to be loved by everyone, not have a life like I did."

Fleur nodded as she took Teddy back from him. "Of course, we will all 'elp out."

Harry sighed, taking one last look at his beautiful godson, before going over to Colin Creevey's family.

"Hi, Mr and Mrs Creevey… Dennis… I'm so sorry for your loss. Colin was a great guy and he was so, so brave. He shouldn't have stayed to fight, but his Gryffindor courage overtook and he just wanted to protect everyone. He has definitely died a hero." Mr and Mrs Creevey, began to cry and both hugged Harry, then Dennis spoke up.

"Harry… I think Colin would have liked you to have this." Dennis handed Harry a small photo album labelled 'My First Year At Hogwarts'. Harry opened it up and the first picture was of an 11-year old Colin grinning beside a 12-year old Harry…. Then a picture he'd taken of Harry and Malfoy racing past him on their brooms during the first Quidditch match of the year.

"Thanks Dennis… it's lovely."

Harry continued to speak to many families until the sun began to set and everyone held their own lit candle and began to walk slowly out of the castle, the coffins of each body floating in front, ready to be boarded onto the boats and taken to various graveyards. It was a beautiful and sad, yet peaceful scene.

Everyone made their way back into the Great Hall for a grand feast and it wasn't until midnight when everyone had left, some of the students leaving early to go back to their parents too. McGonagall announced to the remaining students that Hogwarts would be closing early for summer tomorrow and that students should pack their things before bed tonight.

Back up in the Gryffindor Common Room, everyone began discussing their futures. Seamus announced that he had been approached by Kingsley and asked if he wanted a job in the Ministry dealing with pyrotechnics and explosives and Luna announced she would be taking over from her father as editor and boss of the Quibbler.

Neville said he was going to come back to Hogwarts for another year to finish his NEWTs so he could become a Herbology professor and Ginny agreed she too, would be coming back.

"What about you three?" Neville looked at the golden trio and before the boys had time to think, Hermione spoke for them.

"Well, I'm going to spend the summer tracking down my parents in Australia and re-install their memories, then we're all going to come back and take our NEWT exams."

Ron started "Wait a sec-"

"- You and Harry both want to be Aurors… therefore, you need to finish your NEWTs."

Hermione raised her eyebrow at Ron and that sure silenced him.


	4. Chapter 4

All the students were up early the next morning, trunks all packed and ready to leave Hogwarts for summer. Harry, however, had been up long before anyone else and paid a special visit to Dumbledore's portrait in his office to thank him for that night when he thought Voldemort had finished him. He then said his goodbyes to the other professors, letting them know that he would be back for another year and then met back up with the other Gryffindors and Hagrid who were waiting to leave.

Hagrid accompanied them all to the train station and waved everyone off with tears in his eyes. He knew his favourite students were coming back next year, but he still hated saying goodbye.

Soon enough, Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny were back at Kings Cross Station. They all hugged Luna and Seamus and wished them luck in their new jobs, promising to keep in touch, then shouted over to Neville and Dean to say they'd see them in a few months.

Mr and Mrs Weasley were waiting for the four of them outside the station.

"Oh my sweethearts!" Molly exclaimed and ran to give each of them a bone-crushing hug. "No time to waste my dears! A special dinner is in the process of being prepared at the Burrow, then I have a surprise for the 4 of you!"

They all looked at each other with confused expressions, Ron's a little too excited about the prospect of his mother's cooking and followed Molly and Arthur to the secret entrance to the Leaky Cauldron. They used the fireplace to Floo themselves to the Burrow, where the delicious smell of freshly baked bread and cakes filled their noses.

Ron ran straight to the sofa and crashed out, making Harry grin and the girls shake their heads in amusement.

"What? I'm knackered!"

"Ronald Billius Weasley! Shoes off the sofa!" Molly smacked her youngest son's feet as she bustled past and said "None of you bother unpacking your things… Dinner will be served in just a mere 10 minutes, so if you could all sit yourselves down to the table please!"

Everyone did as they were told, and within seconds, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, George and Arthur had joined them all. Large plates of warm bread and butter, chicken, beef, rice, potatoes and vegetables floated across the room from the kitchen onto the table, followed by jugs of water, butterbeer and firewhiskey. Everyone's eyes lit up, but before being allowed to eat, Arthur spoke up.

"Just before we start, I'd like to make two toasts… one, to my little fighters Ron, George, Harry, Ginny and Hermione… even you my dear Molly who Bellatrix Lestrange would still be alive if it wasn't for your protective instincts. And second of all… to my dear Fred. He fought so bravely for us and we will cherish his fun, loveable memory forever." Arthur held up his glass of firewhisky and everyone else followed suit with "to Fred!"

"Dig in!"

The clan managed to eat every piece of food between them, before Molly brought out big bowls of custard, and huge homemade jam roly-polies and cauldron cakes which too, got devoured, mainly by Ron as most of them were absolutely bloated by that point. After finishing off their drinks and letting the food go down a little, Molly told Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny to say their goodbyes and pick up their trunks and to disapparate to Grimmauld Place.

"Surprise!" Molly beamed at the four of them when they arrived.

Harry frowned. "Mrs Weasley… what are we doing here?"

"This dear… is your new home. For all of you."

The other 3 gasped in shock and stared at Molly with jaws dropped.

"Well… I thought seeing as you four are growing up now and once finished Hogwarts will be going onto other things… I thought you'd might like to live together. Besides, Sirius left this place to Harry in his will."

Harry smiled warmly at Mrs Weasley and rushed over to give her a hug. "Thank you…" He whispered. "It's perfect."

Molly chuckled and patted Harry on the back. "No trouble dear. I must get back, I'll let you four unpack your things and rest now I know that you're all well fed." She hugged Hermione, then her two youngest children, kissing them both on the heads "Be good now" was the last thing she said before disapparating.

Hermione sighed happily and looked at the others. "I'm going to take the room I used to stay in during fifth year… Goodnight." She apparated up to the bedroom and Ron and Ginny each took their own rooms too.

Harry lugged his trunk up to Sirius' old room and closed the door behind him, taking a good look round, smiling at the memory of his beloved Godfather.

"Home, sweet, home."


	5. Chapter 5

2 weeks had passed since Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny had moved into Grimmauld Place and had all settled in nicely. That night, Harry had gone out to a local Muggle street and picked up a Chinese takeaway for Ron and Ginny to try. They were all sat to the table, Ron devouring his chicken chow mein and egg fried rice, stating that this had become his new favourite food.

"Wait till you try pizza." Harry laughed and nearly choked on his beef as Ron's head flew up.

"What the bloody hell is a pizza?!"

"We'll have it for dinner one night next week… you'll love it."

Ron beamed and continued to wipe out his food, before belching loudly.

"Ew Ronald that's disgusting!" Hermione pulled a grossed out face.

"Ron you filthy pig!" Ginny threw a prawn cracker at her brother, whilst Harry was nearly crying with laughter.

"Sorry! It just came out!" Ron exclaimed and put his knife and fork down before sitting back against his chair and patting his stomach. "Mmm, I think I'm in love with Chinese food. Muggles are geniuses!"

"It's Genii, Ronald."

"Come again?"

"Genii… the plural of genius is genii."

"Yeah, yeah." Ron waved a hand dismissively at Hermione and sighed with content.

Hermione narrowed her eyes and cleared her throat "Anyway, I'd like to announce that I shall be leaving first thing tomorrow morning and disapparating to Australia to find my parents."

"WHAT?!" Harry, Ron and Ginny all shouted in unison making Hermione jump.

"I'm sorry guys, I should have warned you sooner… but I've been planning my route and practising spells that I'll need, then realised I only have 2 and a half months left till we go back to Hogwarts. I'm certain it won't take me that long to find my parents, but I need to be sensible… I know it's going to take at least 3 weeks." Hermione bit her lip in thought.

Harry stood up and hugged his best friend. "You'll be fine Hermione, remember to take suncream though, Australia's going to be roasting!" He kissed the top of her head "We're gonna miss you." He gave her a warm smile, then made his way up to bed.

Ginny also hugged Hermione before producing a small silver charm bracelet out of her pocket. Dangling from it was a tiny little bottle of Felix Felicis.

"To wish you luck." Ginny smiled and attached the bracelet around Hermione's wrist.

Hermione let a small tear roll down her cheek and hugged Ginny tightly. "Thank you so much Ginny, you're so kind."

Ginny shrugged her shoulders and let out a breathy laugh. "It's nothing, gonna miss you loads!" She blew Hermione a kiss and followed Harry's suit in heading to bed.

Hermione turned to look at Ron who hadn't said a word and sighed softly. "I'm so sorry Ron, but I need my parents back."

Ron lifted his head to look at Hermione, his emerald eyes filled with tears. "I know 'Mione… I'm just going to miss you more than you could imagine." He stood and walked over to her, pushing a loose strand of Hermione's mousy brown, wavy hair behind her ear and leaned down to place a gentle kiss upon her lips. He pulled back slightly and rested his forehead against hers "You are my world Hermione, how am I going to get through one day without you? I love you."

Hermione let out a small sob. "I love you too Ron." She stood up and pressed her lips against Ron's in a passionate kiss, Ron pushing his lips back against hers in sync and wrapped his hands around her waist, pulling her close to him.

After a few moments, Hermione pulled away and took Ron's hand, her chocolate brown eyes sparkling as she turned around and led him upstairs to her room, locking the door behind them.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys, thank you so much for the positive reviews! The story will pick up a bit from now on :) I'm not used to this story-writing stuff! In answer to the two queries about Ron's eye colour - I know Harry is the one known for 'Lily's green eyes', but I've always envisioned Ron to have sparkling emerald eyes, no particular reason why! :P Now, here's a mushy chapter dedicated to all you R/Hr shippers! ;)**

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Hermione awoke the next morning to the sun shining through her curtains and the sound of birds singing. She rubbed her eyes sleepily and turned over to face a sleeping Ron. She smiled warmly. He looked so peaceful as she brushed his fringe away from his eyes and traced her fingers in a dot-to-dot pattern across his freckles. Hermione then ran her fingers across his cheek, down his neck and down to his bare chest, suddenly blushing at the memory of what happened between them last night.

Hermione looked at the clock and seeing that it was already 8am, she carefully prised herself out of Ron's arms and was just about to get out of bed when a pair of strong arms grabbed her waist and pulled her back down onto the bed. Hermione shrieked and giggled and Ron rolled them over and pinned her down, his body hovering over hers.

"And where do you think you're going, Miss Granger?" He raised his eyebrows at her before nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck, entailing Hermione into another fit of giggles.

"Ron, I need to get ready to go! It's already 8 o'clock!" Hermione struggled, but stood no chance against Ron's grip. Although she did admire how much he had matured into a man, especially the definition of his arm muscles.

"Surely you can hold on for another hour?" Ron pleaded with her, his eyes boring into hers.

Hermione sighed in defeat "Okay, one more hour… but that's it!" Secretly she wanted to spend another day with Ron, but really couldn't put off Australia for any longer.

Ron beamed down at Hermione, then captured her lips in his. Hermione sighed softly into his mouth and wrapped her arms around his neck, then wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling his body against hers. Ron reached behind him with one hand, pulling the covers over them before breaking their kiss to wink at Hermione. He then kissed her again, even deeper this time and heard her soft moan as they began to make love once more.

An hour passed too quickly for both of their likings and Hermione got up and dressed and double checked that everything she needed was in her small beaded bag which still had the extension charm on it from their travels before the battle. She poked her head out the bedroom door and looked down the corridor to see both Harry and Ginny's doors still shut. She didn't have the heart to wake them, so turned back to Ron.

"Say goodbye to Harry and Ginny for me won't you?"

"Sure." Ron nodded and looked up at Hermione with sad eyes.

"It's okay Ron… I'll be back before you know it." Hermione leaned down to the bed and gave him one last lingering kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too" Replied Ron and then with a _pop! _Hermione was gone.


	7. Chapter 7

Hermione appeared in a small alleyway in Canberra. She thought that the best place to try first would be the Capital of the country. She took a deep breath and pulled out the picture of her parents from her back pocket. She had a long search ahead of her.

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Back at Grimmauld Place, Ron had only left his bedroom to get food and to use the bathroom. He just wanted to be on his own for the day to think about Hermione, where she might be and what she might be doing.

Harry and Ginny decided to just leave Ron to his thoughts and took the opportunity to talk properly about their situation.

"Gin…" Harry started, taking her hands in his. "You know how I feel about you and I hope that you feel the same way about me. I want us to be together properly, if that's what you want."

Ginny bit her lip slightly and nodded at Harry. "Yes, that's exactly what I want."

Harry exhaled loudly "That's a relief, I mean honestly Gin, if you'd have turned me down there I don't-"

"Just shut up and kiss me Harry!"

Harry abruptly stopped talking and obeyed Ginny's request, crashing his lips to hers. He felt her smile against his lips and began to deepen the kiss when the doorbell rang.

"Oh crap, I forgot… Bill and Fleur are going to the hospital and asked if we'd have Teddy for the day, then your Mum and Dad will pick him up tonight." Harry smacked his forehead at his forgetfulness and ran to the front door, revealing an exhausted looking Bill, holding little 2 year old Teddy's hand and Fleur looking like she was about to pop.

"Zank you so much for zis 'Arry" said Fleur.

"No problem, I promised I'd look after him, didn't I?" Harry smiled as Bill picked up Teddy and handed him over to Harry.

"Now Teddy, you remember your Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny? You're going to be staying with them and Uncle Ron for the day, then Nanna and Grampa will pick you up okay?" Teddy nodded. "Good boy, now me and Auntie Fleur will be back in a few days." Bill kissed Teddy's head and thanked Harry again before handing him Teddy's nappy sack and bag of toys, then escorted Fleur back to the car. Harry and Teddy waved them off then made their way inside.

Ginny beamed as Harry brought Teddy into the living room and set him down on the floor. Teddy toddled over to Ginny and patted her knee with his little hand.

"A Din Din!" He exclaimed before blowing a big raspberry.

"That's right! Aunt Gin Gin!" Ginny giggled and lifted Teddy up onto her knee where he sat happily, playing with her hair. Harry couldn't help but admire what a natural Ginny was with Teddy.

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Hermione had walked for hours and was absolutely exhausted, not to mention hot, sticky and thirsty. It was getting late, so she decided to check into the next hotel she came across, yet again showing the same photo to both ladies on the desk and getting yet another 'No sorry love, don't recognise those folks." She sighed and made her way up to her hotel room. She must have shown the picture of her parents to at least 200 people today and got nothing. Of course Hermione knew she probably wasn't going to get anywhere on the first day, but she couldn't help but still feel defeated. Hermione decided to order some room service, so she got herself a pizza and a large bottle of water and decided she would spend 2 more days in Canberra, and then move onto Sydney. She finished her food and bedded down for the night, feeling completely wiped out.

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The next morning, Arthur dropped Teddy off to Harry and Ginny on his way to work, with no news of Bill and Fleur. But Harry and Ginny didn't mind, they loved spending time with Teddy as he was such a good boy. They were also enjoying the amount of time they were able to spend together as well, growing closer as a couple each day.

Ron decided he better show his face and spent about an hour leading a wobbly Teddy around the garden as Ginny and Harry prepared some lunch. He found himself feeling a lot happier today, but still missing Hermione like crazy. Harry and Ginny were just glad to see him up and about.

Suddenly, Ron's owl Pig flew in through the kitchen window and dropped a letter in Ginny's freshly made salad.

"Oh Pig! You stupid bird!" Ginny shook her head and retrieved the letter from the salad. She instantly recognised the writing to be her mother's.

_Harry, Ron and Ginny._

_Just received news from Bill that Fleur has gone into labour! Baby is coming quickly too!_

_Send Pig straight back to me and I'll send another update to you soon._

_Love, Mum x_

Ginny gasped and quickly gave Pig a treat before ushering him back out the window.

"What is it Gin?" Harry looked at her questioningly as Ron and Teddy came into the kitchen after seeing Pig fly away.

"What did Mum want?" Asked Ron.

"Fleur's gone into labour!" Ginny exclaimed excitedly!

Harry and Ron grinned at each other and sat down to eat lunch.

At around 6pm, the three of them were sat down on the living room floor, playing with Teddy and his toy Quidditch set, the mini bludgers and broomstick were whizzing around just above the floor making Teddy giggle like crazy, when Pig flew into the room and dropped another letter into Ginny's lap, before going over to perch on Ron's shoulder.

_Harry, Ron and Ginny._

_Good news, Fleur has given birth to a healthy 7lb baby girl! They have named her Victoire. We're going to the hospital now, so we'll pick Teddy up at 8pm. You guys can all go see her tomorrow morning._

_Love Mum x_

"Eeek! Fleur's given birth!" Ginny handed the letter to the boys and clapped her hands together in delight. "Oh it's so wonderful! My first niece!"

Harry and Ron cheered. "It's brilliant!" Harry tickled Teddy "Auntie Fleur has had a baby girl Teddy!"

"Yay!" Shrieked Teddy and then tried to reach up to Ron's shoulder to swipe at Pig. Pig ruffled his feathers and Ron fed him a treat whilst Ginny quickly wrote a reply to the letter.

_That's brilliant news Mum! Send Bill and Fleur our love and tell them we'll visit in the morning._

_Love Ginny, Ron, Harry and Teddy x_

Ginny handed the letter back to Pig who seemed eager to get out of Teddy's reach and watched as he flew back out the window.

Teddy soon fell asleep on top of his Quidditch set and Harry chuckled. "I'll take him up to bed until your Mum and Dad get here." Harry lifted Teddy carefully and took him upstairs.

Ron yawned loudly. "I'm off to bed too… chasing a 2 year old round the garden all day has knackered me out!"

Ginny snickered "Night Ron." She sighed happily, re-reading the letter about baby Victoire. She just couldn't wait to meet her little niece.


	8. Chapter 8

The next 2 days seemed to drag on for Hermione. She was sure she had searched every inch of the huge city of Canberra and gotten nowhere. She was missing home like crazy, especially Ron. Hermione put down Hogwarts: A History with a sigh and threw her toiletries and clothes into her beaded bag, before disapparating out of the hotel and to the back of a small coffee shop on the outskirts of Sydney – this was her next stop. She went into the shop and ordered herself a cappuccino to takeaway and began her next long walk; the warm morning sun beating down on her skin.

* * *

Harry, Ron and Ginny were round the Burrow for lunch 4 days after Fleur had given birth to Victoire for a celebration of the couple coming home with their baby. Technically, Shell Cottage was Bill and Fleur's home, but Molly insisted that they stay with them for a few days so her and Arthur could help out with night feeds to ensure that Fleur got sufficient rest.

Ginny was having a cuddle with Victoire whilst Fleur napped and Bill talked work with Arthur. She couldn't help but fall in love with everything about Victoire, from her tiny hands and feet to her little tuft of blonde hair on her soft head. Harry stood against the doorframe of the living room, watching Ginny with admiration and affection. He knew he was in love with his best friend's sister – heck, he had known it for a long time, he just wasn't quite ready to tell her yet, in case he scared her.

"Your arm aching yet?" Harry smirked at Ginny as she looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. He walked over to the sofa and sat beside her.

"Never. You want a cuddle though?"

"Yes please!" Harry threw his arms round Ginny and she snorted with laughter.

"Not with me! With Victoire you numpty!"

Harry pouted playfully "Well, okay then!" He joked and carefully took the baby from Ginny's arms.

Ginny watched him for a moment, before tilting her head and saying "Harry…"

"Mm?"

"Have you ever thought about having kids one day?"

Harry looked up Ginny and smiled "Of course. I want to give my children a life full of my love, like I wished I had with my own parents."

Ginny couldn't help but fall for Harry a little more.

"Of course, I want to wait a few more years, I'm only just 18!" Harry chuckled and Ginny joined in with her own giggles.

"Well duh!"

* * *

It was getting rather late in Sydney. Hermione had been just about everywhere and asked everyone she met if they had seen her parents. A few people asked her if she had been to the police and she just made up a story about knowing they were fine, just that she couldn't remember where in Sydney they were staying. She couldn't get the police involved. How could she explain, oh, I'm looking for my parents who I performed a memory charm on to save them from getting killed by a dark lord so they have absolutely no memory of having a daughter? They'd lock her up like a crazy woman!

Hermione decided she had better find a hotel to stay in for the night. She took a turning down the next street. It was nearing midnight so the street was empty, the small row of shops pitch black inside. Suddenly, Hermione caught movement in the corner of her eye. She turned around and spotted a figure in the distance, hanging outside a clothes boutique looking rather suspicious. Hermione narrowed her eyes and crept quickly across the road and snuck behind the corner of a wall near the figure. She could tell now that it was a woman by her slender figure, but she was wearing a cloak with the hood up. Hermione couldn't quite believe her eyes at what happened next… the woman pulled a wand out from beneath her clock and whispered "Alohamora" and opened the door of the shop.

Hermione ran to the shop before the door closed, whilst the woman's back was still turned.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Hermione acted quickly, stunning the woman to the floor in a frozen state. She shut the door of the shop and made sure there were no alarms around, before flicking the lights on. Hermione took the woman's wand, before turning her over and removing the hood just as the spell wore off. Hermione gasped loudly.

"Pansy Parkinson?!"

"Hello, Mudblood."


	9. Chapter 9

Hermione was in a state of shock.

"Pansy… what on earth are you doing all the way here in Australia?"

Pansy pushed her hair out her face and stood herself up, dusting herself off. "I could ask you the same question!"

Hermione thought she may as well tell her the truth. She wanted to know what Pansy was up to anyway. Looking at her properly, she could see that Pansy hadn't been living an easy life recently. She looked pale and tired and had a few cuts on her face and hands.

"I'm looking for my parents. So I can undo the memory charm I put on them."

Pansy snorted "Good luck with that." She sighed and pulled her cloak tighter around her thin body "To be honest, I don't know what I'm doing with my life. My parents hate me and kicked me out after Voldemort died. They refused to believe her was gone forever and started sneaking around at night, meeting up with fellow death eaters, spending hours trying to search for other ways to bring him back. One day I just got so fed up with it all that I told them to stop all their nonsense and face the reality that he's gone for good and nothing could ever bring him back… then they started calling me a traitor and 'no daughter of theirs' and kicked me out with just a few clothes and a handful of money. Of course, there's only so long you can wear the same 2 tops before you start to smell and my money was gone within a week, so I've had to resort to breaking into places like this at night and stealing to keep myself alive."

Hermione frowned, but listened intently to Pansy, actually feeling slightly sorry for her. She was willing to move on with her life without Voldemort but her parents couldn't… and no daughter should ever go through being treated like that by her own Mum and Dad.

"But why Australia?"

"It was the one place I've always wanted to go, ever since I was a little girl. Pretty beaches, hot weather, hot surfer dudes."

Pansy and Hermione both giggled and Hermione sighed. "Pansy, I know we've never liked each other, but I would like to help you out." She reached into her bag and pulled out a small bag of Australian money. "Here, it's not much, but it'll get you a decent 3 meals for the next couple of days." She handed Pansy the money with a soft smile. "Try to get yourself a job tomorrow, that way you can make yourself a living out here."

Pansy took the money and smiled. "Thanks Mu- Hermione… I… I really appreciate it."

Hermione nodded. "I have to go, I've one more day in Sydney before Melbourne." Hermione turned to leave, before adding "Oh, and, take those 2 dresses over there… I never saw anything."

Pansy nodded with a small laugh and waved as Hermione left the shop.

Hermione couldn't believe the encounter she just had… with Pansy Parkinson off all people! But she knew she did the right thing in helping her. She may be a Slytherin, but at the end of the day she's just a human like everyone else. Hermione was kind of glad she had no contact with anyone back home because she couldn't wait to share her story with them all when she got back!

Hermione checked into the nearest hotel and decided she would have a day off tomorrow and just enjoy the beach and the sun for a day.


	10. Chapter 10

Another 2 weeks passed and the summer was almost halfway through.

Ron, Harry and Ginny had just finished a takeaway pizza, which Ron thanked Harry for warning him that he would love it, because it was now his favourite Muggle food… even more than Chinese. Ginny got up to pour herself a glass of wine, when she suddenly gasped.

"What? What?!" Harry and Ron looked at Ginny worriedly.

"I've just thought of something! You two both want to be Aurors, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Well why don't you speak to Kingsley about spending the next few weeks shadowing him and the other Aurors at the Ministry?"

Ron frowned. "No way will we be allowed to do that!"

Harry, on the other hand, clapped his hand down on the table and grinned. "That's a brilliant idea Ginny!" Ron looked at Harry as if he'd gone nuts.

"How the bloody hell d'you think we'll be able to do it?"

"Well, it's what Muggles call 'work experience'. I remember Dudley going to work with Uncle Vernon for his a few years ago. In Muggle schools, everyone in 4th year thinks about what they would like a career in when they leave school and they go and work somewhere relevant for a week or two to learn all about the job and see if they enjoy it."

"Oh…" Ron paused, then his eyes lit up, looking between Harry and Ginny. "D'you really think Kingsley will agree to that?! That would be bloody brilliant!"

"Well I don't see why not."

"I'm gonna go ask Dad now!" Ron jumped up, grabbed a piece of parchment off the kitchen counter and ran up to his room. Harry and Ginny both shook their heads at his childish excitement.

"At least he's serious about becoming an Auror." Ginny chuckled.

"Yeah… and I think he'll make a ruddy good one someday."

* * *

Hermione had just about given up. She had been to every big city in Australia and worked out that she only had 6 weeks left until Hogwarts begins again. She had one more stop on her plan, and if she had no luck there, she didn't know what she would do next. Hermione apparated to an empty beach in Perth. She knew she would walking for a while until she got to someone's house because everything here was so spaced out.

About half an hour passed until Hermione came to the first house, she knocked on the door and a friendly looking man answered. "G'day stranger! How may I help ya?"

"Hello, my name's Hermione and I was wondering if you recognised these two people?" Hermione reached behind into her back pocket and retrieved the photo of her parents, showing it to the man.

The man studied the picture carefully, before raising his eyebrows. "Ay, wait a sec! I do recognise these two!"

"You do?!" Hermione's eyes widened "Where from? Have you seen them lately?" She bit her lip anxiously.

"Sure! That's Wendell and Monica Wilkins… They moved out here from England a few months ago. I remember meeting them at a dinner party one night."

"Please sir… do you by any chance, know where they live?"

"Yeah, about 2 miles south… not sure what house, but heck, this is Perth, it's probably the only one you'll come across for another mile or so!" The man chuckled heartily.

"Thank you ever so much Sir, but I must be going now… thank you again! Hermione waved and with a grin, practically started running in the direction of the south.

Within 20 minutes, Hermione arrived at a small, pretty, white house perched on a little sandy beach. Hot and breathless, she stopped for a second before ascending the small flight of wooden stairs which led to the front door. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Within a minute, a lady with curly brown hair and a friendly smile answered the door.

"Hello? Can I help you Miss?"

Hermione's mouth gaped as she was almost too stunned to get her words out. Standing before her was her very own mother, looking no different to how she did when Hermione left them, except now her skin was a soft tan colour from all the sun she'd obviously been soaking up.

"Who is it dear?" Came a male voice from inside and Hermione's father joined her mother at the door. Hermione almost fainted at the sight, but quickly came to her senses.

"Um… I'm sorry, I've been walking for ages and think I'm lost… may I use your loo please?"

Hermione's mother smiled warmly. "Of course! Anything for an English girl like myself. You have an awfully familiar accent by the way, you must be from Oxford or somewhere near there like us."

Hermione nodded and ran into their bathroom. She leaned against the sink and looked at her reflection in the mirror.

"Pull yourself together Hermione… you have a job to do and you need to do it right now."

Hermione took another deep breath and pulled out her wand, holding it behind her with one hand. With her free hand, she opened the bathroom door as quietly as she could. To her relief, both their backs were turned, so before they had chance to turn around, Hermione quickly uttered "Memini Meminisse".

Hermione nervously held her breath as her parents rubbed their heads, before slowly turning around.

"Hermione!"


	11. Chapter 11

"Mum… Dad… I'm so, so sorry."

Hermione threw her arms around her parents, tears streaming down her face.

"Oh Darling…" Jean Granger hugged her daughter tightly and kissed her head whilst Dan Granger stroked Hermione's hair. "Why don't you come into the living room and have a nice cup of tea and we can talk properly."

Hermione nodded and reluctantly let go of her parents as if they would disappear again and made her way into the living room, sitting herself down on the comfy grey sofa.

"So, what happened exactly? Why have we only just remembered who our daughter is? Why did we move here? And why on earth were we being known as Wendell and Monica?" Dan scratched his head, looking very confused.

Hermione smiled at her mother as she handed her a mug of tea and Hermione took a sip before answering her father.

"I erased your memories so that you would be safe."

Jean frowned. "Safe from what?"

"The Dark Lord Voldemort."

"What?! Where is he now then?"

"He's dead Mum… Harry finished him."

Jean and Dan exchanged a look, before both turning back to Hermione. "How?"

Hermione sighed softly. "You'd better get comfortable, it's an awfully long story…"

Hermione filled her parents in with everything that had happened since that day she erased their memories… Bill and Fleurs' wedding, the Minister being murdered, getting attacked in the café, breaking into the Ministry, Ron leaving them, destroying the locket, that awful night at the Malfoy's Manor and Dobby's bravery, breaking into Gringotts, flying on a dragon, going back to Hogwarts and she certainly didn't leave a single detail out from the battle. By the time Hermione had finished, the sun had long set.

Jean and Dan both let out huge breaths as if hearing Hermione's story had exhausted them.

"Goodness Gracious Hermione!" Jean shook her head slowly. "You've been through so much in such a short space of time!"

"We're so proud of you sweetheart." Dan stood up and made his way over to Hermione, cradling her in his arms. "And we're so sorry you had to go through it all without us."

Hermione sniffed as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. "It's okay Dad." She wiped the tears away. "Luckily I had great friends around me and although we lost a few people who will be missed terribly, I'm just incredibly lucky to have Harry, Ron and Ginny still with me."

"How long have you got till you have to return to Hogwarts 'Mione?"

"6 weeks."

"Okay." Jean picked up Hermione's empty tea mug. "I know you would probably like to get back to your friends… and Ron." She winked, before continuing. "But your father and I would like to spend at least 2 more weeks here having quality time with our special, brave and wonderful daughter before we all go back to England together."

Hermione nodded in agreement and rubbed her eyes tiredly.

"But for now… you need good night's sleep." Jean leaned down and kissed her daughter's forehead. "First door on the left as you go up the stairs. Goodnight my love." Jean disappeared into the kitchen.

Hermione let out a big yawn and stood up, kissing Dan on the cheek before wandering sleepily up to the spare room and collapsing onto the bed, going out like a light.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys, thank you so much for all the positive reviews! I'm really enjoying writing this story! This chapter's a bit longer than the last few, but I'm back to work tomorrow after a week off (boooo) so unfortunately updates shall be slower :( hopefully this will satisfy you all for now! Much love x**

* * *

Grimmauld Place was quiet for the next 2 weeks. Kingsley Shacklebolt had agreed for Harry and Ron to shadow himself and some fellow Aurors at the Ministry and they ended up going on a Death Eater chase on their third day. At first, Kingsley was reluctant to let them both tag along, but seeing as between them, Harry and Ron had successfully stunned about 200 Death Eaters and Snatchers, (not to mention Harry defeating the most powerful dark wizard of all time) he couldn't really say no.

Each day was a long shift, starting at 6am and ending at 8pm, so Harry and Ron barely had time to grab something to eat before they collapsed exhaustedly into their beds, let alone talk about their day.

For the first few days, Ginny felt so lonely in the big house all by herself, although she had managed to excel in her cake baking skills out of boredom and the boys appreciated being able to hungrily wolf down huge slices of her delicious creations when they got home.

One day, the doorbell rang at about 11am and Ginny frowned.

"Who could that be?"

She made her way down the long hallway and opened the door to find Fleur stood there, Teddy holding one of her hands and Victoire resting on her hip.

"'Ello Ginny. I am so sorry to drop in on you like zis." Fleur looked distressed and sighed as Teddy ran over to Ginny and hugged her leg.

"What ever is the matter Fleur? You look so stressed out!"

"My father… 'e has taken ill and has been rushed to zee 'ospital in my hometown in France. I must go immediately… but Bill is on important business at work and cannot come home. I was 'oping you could look after these two for me until he finishes tomorrow morning."

Ginny nodded feverently. "Of course Fleur! You go!" She took Victoire out of Fleur's arms and rested her on her own hip. "It's no trouble at all, you get straight to your father."

Fleur bit her lip and handed a rucksack with some of the childrens' toys, nappies and food inside to Ginny's free hand. "Zank you so much Ginny, I owe you one!"

"Honestly Fleur, you don't owe me anything." Ginny shook her head and waved as Fleur gave her a slight smile then disapparated.

Ginny let out a deep breath, then smiled. "Right, come on then you two! Let's go play!"

"Yay! Play! Aunt Gin Gin!" Teddy shrieked and ran into the living room. Ginny chuckled and followed him, then placed the spare play mat that they kept for when Teddy used to visit on the floor so she could lie Victoire down on it. Victoire began blowing raspberries and babbling incoherently as Teddy got out his favourite flying Quidditch set.

* * *

"GET DOWN!"

Harry and Ron coughed and spluttered and gasped for breath as they hid behind a massive rock from 3 Death Eaters who were adamant that Voldemort was still alive and had blown up an old ruined building right by them causing a large cloud of dust and debris to surround them.

"Recruited Potter and Weasley have you?! The Dark Lord will be delighted when we bring them to him!" One of the Death Eaters cackled evilly. "Come on, come out and play!"

Harry growled under his breath and quickly darted out from the rock, pointing his wand at another large boulder beside one of the Death Eaters.

"Confringo!" Harry yelled and blew the boulder to pieces, knocking one of them unconscious.

Ron and Kingsley both jumped up and began stunning.

"STUPEFY!" Ron flicked his wand, aiming the spell at the Death Eater closest to him, but he dodged and grinned.

"Not good enough Weasel! Crucio!"

"Protego!" Ron managed to block the unforgivable curse and then darted back behind the rock.

Kingsley had managed to body bind the other Death Eater, before using Impedimenta on the one that was attacking Ron.

Ron sheepishly made his way over to Harry and Kingsley, who were now handcuffing the dark wizards.

"Sorry Kingsley… I should have tried harder."

"Nonsense Weasley…" Kingsley shoved the Death Eaters to his colleagues that had just arrived and watched as they took them away, Azkaban being where they would end up. "You are only young. You are only here for experience. Once you take your NEWTs and begin real training, you will be brilliant in no time."

Ron raised a small smile and a blush formed along his cheeks and on the tips of his ears. "Thanks Kingsley. That makes me feel better."

"Pleasure. Now, get home, both of you. It's past 9 and I expect Ginny will be wondering where you are. Just two more days and you can get back to normal, but trust me, this will become normality one day if you still want it. Goodnight boys." Kingsley nodded curtly at them and disapparated.

Harry patted Ron on the back with a tired smile. "C'mon, let's get to bed. I don't know about you, but I'm knackered!"

"I am too mate, trust me." Ron sighed and they both disapparated home.

"Night mate." Ron walked straight upstairs to his room as soon as they got back to Grimmauld Place.

"Night Ron."

Harry rubbed his eyes and pushed his muddy hair out of his face vowing to himself to get straight in the shower as soon as he's said goodnight to Ginny and to get a hair cut as soon as this work experience was over. Harry made his way into the lounge and stopped in the doorway as the sight he saw was too precious to disturb.

Ginny was sound asleep on the sofa with baby Victoire cradled in one arm and Teddy snuggled into her other side, both of whom were also fast asleep. Harry smiled affectionately and realised that he was more in love with this beautiful red head than he'd ever realised before.


End file.
